Sunday, 7 February 2016

COMING SOON: PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE ME

There are a lot of people who, quite rightly, raise an eyebrow when a person with a disability is described as inspirational. Able-ism can be extremely damaging. Disabled people are often objectified in the media and on the internet to make non-disabled people feel better - the underlying message being "It could be worse. You could be them". When people are patronisingly congratulated on simply existing with a disability, it makes achievements seem beyond the realms of possibility and shocking. That's not to say though that sometimes making it to the end of the day isn't worth celebrating when your body has battled against you from the moment you woke up.I am about to start publishing a series of posts on this blog where I interview people who inspire me. I would like to preface this series with the caveat that I am inspired by anyone, disabled or not, who takes action to create positive change. I find that when I can draw parallels between the inspirational person's circumstances and my own, the impact is even more powerful.The people I am going to interview do all have similar circumstances to mine in one way or another. On a lot of occasions the similarity will be that we both have chronic illnesses. These people are inspirational to me because of their attitude, actions and adaptability, not simply because their health has been compromised. When I fell ill I was thrown into a situation that was overwhelmingly frightening and disorientating. The exceptional people I am going to interview have taught me a lot about resilience and reassured me in one way or another that it is possible to adapt, make positive changes and be extraordinary in spite of (not because of) the fact that you've been thrown a big curveball.